How will England look to stop Mbappe in the World Cup quarterfinals? (2:15)Steve Nicol and Alejandro Moreno discuss how England will look to deal with Kylian Mbappe when they face France. (2:15)
DOHA, Qatar — Four years is a long time in football, yet the players will tell you that time flew between Russia 2018 and Qatar 2022. For some, it may have felt even quicker.
Since winning the World Cup four years ago, Kylian Mbappe‘s life has been a whirlwind of emotion and success. In no particular order: There was the decision to stay at Paris Saint-Germain and snub Real Madrid last May; missing the decisive penalty in France‘s round-of-16 shootout defeat to Switzerland at Euro 2020; the 2020 Champions League final loss to Bayern Munich after missing a big chance when the score was still 0-0. There’s the three Ligue 1 titles won, the 193 goals scored, the 93 assists registered, the formation of the partnership with Neymar and Lionel Messi and the 2021 UEFA Nations League triumph.
Most important, though, is Mbappe is obviously not the same player that he was four years ago.
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